I have recently finished my CELTA and hopefully will be looking for TEFL jobs in Japan as soon as I have sorted my house to rent out. Instead of taking the ALT route, I would like to go straight into teaching myself with the possibility of being in Japan for several years (fingers crossed).

Is there an ideal time to start looking for a teaching job in Japan? If there is a standard one year contract, then I would like to pick a start date that expires at a time where there is a reasonable amount of jobs available again to apply for. Not sure if there are 'droughts' of teaching job opportunities for certain periods in the Japanese calender.

March/April is the standard contract start date, but schools do have openings throughout the year. Now is the time to start applying for jobs in 2010, though -- if you wait until next year, the most desirable schools will have completed their hiring, and you'll wind up working at a big chain school (or trying to scrape together part-time work). Check the schools' application deadlines and start dates, make sure you address both the school's required and preferred experience/education/skill sets, and follow the application instructions. Good luck!